Readings Just Because

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 16 Aug 2001, and now archived in the Forum Library.

StarShine	16 Aug 2001
Okay, maybe it is just me. Sometimes I have a really strong desire to do a reading for myself. It's like my cards are calling me with a bull horn. The thing is, I won't be able to think of a single thing that I want to ask, and one card pulls and three card spreads don't seem to be enough. It is as though I am being told to do some major spread about nothing at all. Does this ever happen to any of you and what spreads do you use if this does happen? What are you thinking when you shuffle if not a particular question? Of course it is totally possible that this does not happen to anyone else and I am simply nuts.

MeeWah	16 Aug 2001
StarShine: What? You need a reason to play with your cards :D No offense, but the topic hits my funny bone :D There could be different reasons why you think your cards are calling to you... It may be that your inner self is seeking to communicate, to "touch base" with you, in which case I would heed the phone. The call. I recommend a general, all-purpose reading, for which a Celtic Cross Spread would be appropriate because it covers various areas of life or "all bases". Or whichever spread you prefer. I like the Celtic for its overview. Sometimes, I use only the "cross" portion.

.dc	17 Aug 2001
starshine, i agree sorta with MeeWah... i'm always doing something with tarot. whether it be reading on myself, others or the cards themselves, working on my tarot journal, this board =), or exploring the meanings and symbolism of the deck itself. i don't believe in the idea that You have to have a reason for doing a spread. Sometimes i'll shuffle the deck and lay cards out, just to do a quick spread and not really go to deeply in the cards. only to pick them up after a minute or two to start the process over again. almost like my version of solitare i guess? i dunno... i cannot play that game anymore as i beat it almost every time. blessed be and keep reading. .dc

Mojo	17 Aug 2001
Starshine, I also get the sudden undirected urge to look at the cards. When it happens, I usually do my version of a Gypsy spread (see my Past/Present/Future thread in this forum for an explanation of it) and just look for a pattern in the past and present lines to see what the message is. This usually gives me a good indication of what I'm supposed to be reacting to, so I can look at the future line and get a clue.

Kiama	17 Aug 2001
I find my cards 'calling' to me from inside their cupboard quite often.... It's like you can't stay away from them, isn't it? But when you eventually do, you pick them up and just sit there, and shuffle... You don't know what to do or why they called you. What I usually do now when this happens is simply do a reading, whilst asking the question: "Tell me what I need to know" cuz I assume the cards have something to tell me. Sometimes though, like pets, they just want to be played with... Kiama

StarShine	17 Aug 2001
Kiama: After reading your comparison of the Cards and pets, I have decided..... I MUST have the Tarot For Cats! I don't think I will be doing many readings with them, but at least when I get the urge, I will have a deck to "play" with! Have you seen this deck? It is the CUTEST thing I have ever seen. At least until someone actually makes the Elvis Deck in black velvet! ;D

purplelady	17 Aug 2001
I do this, and I also ask the cards "Tell me that which I need to know".

Kiama	17 Aug 2001
Starshine: For me, the cards are not just tools and inanimate paper objects. I am not professing that they own special powers or anything, but I do believe they hold energies which manifest into the cards as 'personlaities', so the cards always seem to have their moods. Sometimes they get really bored with being serious and doing readings so they muck around with me. I remember once when I did about 7 readings in one day, all quite serious and deep, and that evening, the cards were just screaming to be 'played' with... Y'know the kind of thing I mean... Talking to them about stupid stuff like you would to a hamster or a friend, holding them, shuffling them, playing snap with them, making stories from them, etc... Not only is this fun for me and anyone else who wants to join in, but it revitalises the cards' energy and renews mine within itm pushing away negativity. Sometimes I find that the cards are calling to me for this, not for readings.... And I love the Tarot for Cats too! Esp. the Hanged Man! Kiama

EveAnna	17 Aug 2001
I only do the two readings a week but I handle my cards every day, sometimes when I shuffle cards drop out then I'll read them just in case they fell out for a reason - I'm finding that this new deck, Original R/W is very honest and so even when I don't intend to read I 'play' with them. :)

magnwa	18 Aug 2001
When the cards call but you don't know for what, you can always do a reading that involves the question coming up in a card. :) Robin Wood's CC uses a "question" card, and that is very helpful to me. (In fact, it's the only CC I seem to do anymore.) Magnwa

Rhyannon	19 Aug 2001
I do readings all the time, but that is mainly to get my reading skills up to scratch. Sometimes I do readings when I get a new spread that I want to try out, like today. I'm making my husband play guinea pig for me for a new spread that I found on Tarotspreads.com today. I still have alot of learning to do, as far as what the cards mean, without looking in the LWBs. But, this just gets my abilities up to scratch.

The Readings Just Because thread was originally posted on 16 Aug 2001 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.